Citation 10 aircraft12/8/2023 ![]() No approach to McDonnell Douglas was made. Because DC-10s were already rolling off the production line, Convair was faced with the prospect of paying for expensive retrofits to the DC-10 if it raised questions now. Although he wrote a strong memo, management felt its hands were tied by a "reliance clause" in the contract, which stated that if Convair disagreed with the design philosophy it must make its concerns known in the design stage or pay for any later required changes. He took his concerns to higher management in an effort to have Convair contact McDonnell Douglas and develop a more secure fix. Two weeks after Windsor, Dan Applegate, head of project engineering at Convair, a subcontractor for the DC-10 cargo doors, expressed grave doubts about the "Band-Aid" fixes being proposed for the cargo door lock and latch system. Instead, John Sheaffer, the head of the FAA, finessed these conflicting objectives by making a "gentleman's agreement" with McDonnell Douglas to develop a fix for the cargo door and implement it through service bulletins sent only to owners of DC-10s, thus avoiding harmful publicity. An AD at this time would have given Lockheed a competitive advantage by drawing attention to the DC-10 problem. But the FAA charter contains a dual mandate: The FAA must not only ensure aviation safety but also promote the aviation industry. Ordinarily a problem of this magnitude would result in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issuing an Airworthiness Directive (AD), a public document that has the force of law, requiring owners of a particular aircraft to modify their airplanes within a certain time. Only the skill of the American Airlines pilot and a very lightly loaded airplane enabled the plane to land safely. Less than a year after the DC-10 was in service, a rear cargo door was improperly closed on a flight from Detroit, Michigan, and it blew open over Windsor, Ontario, causing the floor above it to collapse downward. If, however, either part of the aircraft experiences a sudden decompression, the loss of equalizing pressure would cause the floor to buckle or collapse, resulting in damage to the control system, which is located in the interior spaces of the floor beams. Thus the floor has to be strong enough to support only the weight of passengers, crew, seats, and so on. Because a heavy floor able to withstand this force would not be economical, the cargo hold is also pressurized. Design Vulnerabilityīecause airliners fly at high altitudes, the passenger cabin must be pressurized, up to 38 pounds per square inch. McDonnell Douglas won the competition, but evidence of its haste to beat Lockheed is reflected in these case studies. The market would support only two viable manufacturers, and because the Boeing 747 was well established, either Lockheed Corporation or McDonnell Douglas Corporation would have to withdraw and suffer a substantial financial loss. It was introduced into commercial service in 1972, during a time of unusually intense competition in the U.S. The DC-10 is a wide-bodied aircraft with two wing engines and a third engine distinctively placed in the tail fin. The troubled history of the DC-10 aircraft, especially in relation to questions raised as a result of its involvement in three major accidents between 19, provides a multidimensional case study in the ethics of engineering design and the uses of technology.
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